BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL

On a chilly, damp evening in south London, a group of runners is doing something a little different. There are no weight racks, treadmills, or gym mirrors in sight. Instead, on a rooftop garden tucked above a concrete car park, they’re shoveling compost, clearing weeds, and smiling through the mud. Their warm-up was a one-mile jog through the city to get there.

This is GoodGym in action. It’s a growing movement that’s redefining what it means to work out. The organization invites people to “get fit by doing good,” blending physical activity with hands-on community service. Members run, walk, or cycle to local projects that could range from sorting cans at a food bank, planting fruit trees, visiting an older adult, or moving furniture for someone in need.

“I go to the normal gym usually and I do other sorts of exercise,” said Jason Kurtis, 42, a regular volunteer. “But this is my mandatory once-a-week run with the GoodGym group. It’s really fun, and it forces me to get out, especially on a Monday night when it’s cold and in the middle of winter.”

For thousands across England and Wales, GoodGym offers more than just an alternative to the gym. It’s become a community powered by kindness, sweat, and a shared commitment to making a difference.

Building a better kind of workout

The idea began back in 2007 when founder Ivo Gormley started running to deliver a newspaper to an older neighbor. At the time, he was feeling out of shape and missed the camaraderie of his old basketball team.

“I just didn’t like that idea of going to a gym, going into a sweaty basement and lifting things that don’t really need lifting,” Gormley said. “I thought I could do something more useful in my exercise.”

He started organizing runs to places in need of helping hands; no project was too big or too small. The very first group tore down outdated posters in his east London neighborhood. Since then, GoodGym has grown into a registered charity with over 26,000 members in 67 locations. Now it’s aiming to expand into Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The pandemic temporarily halted group runs, but also revealed just how vital the organization had become. Volunteers pivoted to delivering food and prescriptions to isolated older adults, many of whom had no other support.

Today, GoodGym continues those one-on-one visits while also bringing back its signature group workouts. Some tasks are solitary like mowing lawns or helping someone move, but participants are encouraged to run, walk, or bike to each mission.

“You can just sign up today and have a go tonight,” said Gormley. “We try to reduce the barriers as much as possible. You don’t have to come back if you don’t like it. It’s a really easy way to get involved.”

Community, movement, and meaning

In Battersea, southwest London, local leader Anastasia Hancock begins a typical Monday night session with lunges and stretches, prepping her group for the run to Doddington and Rollo’s rooftop garden, a green oasis surrounded by 1970s-era high-rises.

One of their past workouts involved hauling hundreds of compost bags up a narrow stairway to the rooftop. “That was an amazing workout,” she said, smiling.

Hancock rarely cancels, even during London’s cold, rainy winters. The group keeps showing up. For many, especially women, the runs offer a safer way to stay active after dark on top of a little dose of midweek motivation.

“I really love coming,” said Sophie Humphrey, 33. “I think it’s just a boost of positivity in the week. It’s amazing to get together a group of people who just want to help somebody they don’t know.”

And after the digging and lifting? Sometimes there’s a post-run pint at the local pub.

The science of doing good

GoodGym’s warm spirit is matched by real evidence. Dr. Christian Krekel, assistant professor at the London School of Economics, led a two-year study to examine whether combining volunteering with exercise produced extra mental health benefits.

Surveying over 3,600 participants, the team found improvements across all six measures of wellbeing, including less loneliness, higher life satisfaction, and a stronger sense of belonging.

“Because of this unique combination of volunteering or pro-social activity and physical activity, we do find stronger well-being impacts than what the literature suggests for volunteering and for physical activity alone,” Krekel said. “It’s actually quite powerful.”

A simple but transformative idea

Though few other organizations blend exercise and volunteering in quite the same way, Gormley believes the concept taps into something timeless.

“It’s what people have always done, right?” he said. “You grow some food and literally through the action of planting and digging, that’s where your exercise comes from.”

Today, in a world where screen time is high and community connection can feel out of reach, GoodGym offers something refreshingly grounded: movement with purpose, kindness in motion, and a reminder that fitness can feel good and do good at the same time.

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